EV talent commands respect, big salaries

A worker cleans a LeSEE electric concept car by Chinese firm LeEco on display at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in Beijing in April 2016. [Photo/AP]

More than 200 Chinese companies－their backers include Terry Gou, Ma Huateng, Jack Ma and Jia Yueting－are developing 4,000 models of new-energy vehicles or NEVs and unveiling prototypes at motor shows and home-electronics expos.

Traditional automakers and a bevy of startups see opportunity in the government's commitment to boost yearly sales of NEVs by a factor of 10 in the next decade.

China surpassed the United States last year to become the world's biggest market for NEVs, a fleet comprising electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell cars. Domestic automakers sold 331,092 units in 2015, according to the State-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The Chinese government has set a sales target of 3 million units a year by 2025. China also is accelerating construction of charging stations to serve 5 million EVs by 2020.